Self-calibrated thermal sensors of an integrated circuit die

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide self-calibrated thermal sensors of an integrated circuit (IC) die and associated techniques and configurations. In one embodiment, a self-calibrating thermal sensing device includes a resonator configured to oscillate at a frequency corresponding with a temperature of circuitry of an integrated circuit (IC) die, wherein the resonator is thermally coupled with the circuitry and configured to operate in a first mode and a second mode and logic operatively coupled with the resonator, and configured to calculate a first temperature corresponding with a first frequency of the resonator in the first mode using a first equation, calculate a second temperature corresponding with a second frequency of the resonator in the second mode using a second equation, and add an offset to the first equation and the second equation based on a result of a comparison of the first temperature and the second temperature. Other embodiments may be described and/or claimed.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/915,453, filed Jun. 11, 2013, and entitled “SELF-CALIBRATEDTHERMAL SENSORS OF AN INTEGRATED CIRCUIT DIE,” the entire content anddisclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD

Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field ofintegrated circuits, and more particularly, to self-calibrated thermalsensors of an integrated circuit (IC) die.

BACKGROUND

Emerging thermal sensors may be integrated with circuitry (e.g., CMOSdevice) of a die. However, process variations in deep submicronmanufacturing of the thermal sensors may induce significant inaccuraciesin such sensors. To resolve this problem, the thermal sensors may becalibrated during assembly testing (e.g., class or test). For example,the die may be placed on a thermal chuck with temperature control andthe thermal sensors may be calibrated to read various temperatures ofthe thermal chuck. Such calibration technique may provide thermalsensors that are inaccurate (e.g., discrepancy of about +/−3-5 degreesCelsius at intermediate temperatures of a hot-to-cold range), which mayresult in lost performance opportunity, lost energy in cooling and/orother associated problems with power control. Further, accuracy ofthermal sensors may diminish over time due to age-induced effects.Current thermal sensors may not be equipped for calibration in the field(e.g., in a final product of an electronic computing device in the handsof a user), which may further exacerbate lost performance opportunity,lost energy in cooling and/or other power control problems.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments will be readily understood by the following detaileddescription in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. To facilitatethis description, like reference numerals designate like structuralelements. Embodiments are illustrated by way of example and not by wayof limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates an example top view of an integratedcircuit (IC) die in wafer form and in singulated form, the IC dieincluding one or more self-calibrating thermal sensors, in accordancewith some embodiments.

FIG. 2 schematically illustrates an example configuration of aself-calibrating thermal sensor, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a cross-section side view of anintegrated circuit (IC) die including a multi-mode resonator, inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 4 schematically illustrates a multi-mode resonator configured in afirst mode and a second mode, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 5 is a graph depicting a correlation of measured frequency andtemperature for a first mode and second mode of resonance, in accordancewith some embodiments.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of a method of thermal calibration, inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 7 schematically illustrates a computing device that includes an ICdie having a self-calibrating thermal sensor and/or resonator asdescribed herein, in accordance with some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present disclosure include self-calibrated thermalsensors of an integrated circuit (IC) die and associated techniques andconfigurations. In the following detailed description, reference is madeto the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, wherein likenumerals designate like parts throughout, and in which are shown by wayof illustration embodiments in which the subject matter of the presentdisclosure may be practiced. It is to be understood that otherembodiments may be utilized and structural or logical changes may bemade without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.Therefore, the following detailed description is not to be taken in alimiting sense, and the scope of embodiments is defined by the appendedclaims and their equivalents.

For the purposes of the present disclosure, the phrase “A and/or B”means (A), (B), or (A and B). For the purposes of the presentdisclosure, the phrase “A, B, and/or C” means (A), (B), (C), (A and B),(A and C), (B and C), or (A, B and C).

The description may use perspective-based descriptions such astop/bottom, in/out, over/under, and the like. Such descriptions aremerely used to facilitate the discussion and are not intended torestrict the application of embodiments described herein to anyparticular orientation.

The description may use the phrases “in an embodiment,” or “inembodiments,” which may each refer to one or more of the same ordifferent embodiments. Furthermore, the terms “comprising,” “including,”“having,” and the like, as used with respect to embodiments of thepresent disclosure, are synonymous.

The term “coupled with,” along with its derivatives, may be used herein.“Coupled” may mean one or more of the following. “Coupled” may mean thattwo or more elements are in direct physical, electrical, or opticalcontact. However, “coupled” may also mean that two or more elementsindirectly contact each other, but yet still cooperate or interact witheach other, and may mean that one or more other elements are coupled orconnected between the elements that are said to be coupled with eachother. The term “directly coupled” may mean that two or more elementsare in direct contact.

In various embodiments, the phrase “a first feature formed, deposited,or otherwise disposed on a second feature,” may mean that the firstfeature is formed, deposited, or disposed over the second feature, andat least a part of the first feature may be in direct contact (e.g.,direct physical and/or electrical contact) or indirect contact (e.g.,having one or more other features between the first feature and thesecond feature) with at least a part of the second feature.

As used herein, the term “module” or “logic” may refer to, be part of,or include an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), anelectronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) and/ormemory (shared, dedicated, or group) that execute one or more softwareor firmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, and/or othersuitable components that provide the described functionality.

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates an example top view of an integratedcircuit (IC) die (hereinafter “die 101”) in wafer form 10 and insingulated form 100, the die 101 including one or more self-calibratingthermal sensors (hereinafter “self-calibrating thermal sensor 200”), inaccordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the die 101 maybe one of a plurality of dies (e.g., dies 101, 101 a, 101 b) of a wafer11. The wafer 11 may include a semiconductor substrate composed of asemiconductor material such as, for example, silicon (Si) or othersuitable semiconductor material. Individual dies may include circuitry103 formed on a surface of the wafer 11. The circuitry 103 may include,for example, one or more integrated circuit (IC) devices such as, forexample, transistors formed on an active side of the die 101 and/orinterconnect circuitry that electrically couples the IC devices withother electronic devices external to the die 101. Each of the dies(e.g., dies 101, 101 a, 101 b) may be a repeating unit of asemiconductor product that includes a self-calibrating thermal sensor200, as described herein. The dies may comport with embodimentsdescribed, for example, in connection with FIGS. 2-3. Theself-calibrating thermal sensor 200 may be embedded within the circuitry103 in some embodiments.

After a fabrication process of the semiconductor product is complete,the wafer 11 may undergo a singulation process in which each of the dies(e.g., die 101, 101 a, 101 b) is separated from one another to providediscrete “chips” of the semiconductor product (e.g., die 101 insingulated form 100). The wafer 11 may be any of a variety of sizes. Insome embodiments, the wafer 11 has a diameter ranging from about 25.4 mmto about 450 mm. The wafer 11 may include other sizes and/or othershapes in other embodiments. According to various embodiments, theself-calibrating thermal sensor described herein may be part of a die101 in wafer form 10 or singulated form 100 depending on whether thewafer 11 has been singulated or not. The die 101 may be configured toperform any of a wide variety of suitable functions. For example, thedie 101 may represent or include a processor, memory or ASIC, orcombinations thereof. In one embodiment, the die 101 represents orincludes a Central Processing Unit (CPU).

The depictions of the circuitry 103 and the self-calibrating thermalsensor 200 are provided only as an example for the sake of discussion.The circuitry 103 and self-calibrating thermal sensor 200 are notlimited to the depicted configuration and may include a wide variety ofsuitable configurations according to various embodiments.

FIG. 2 schematically illustrates an example configuration of aself-calibrating thermal sensor 200, in accordance with someembodiments. In some embodiments, the self-calibrating thermal sensor200 may include circuitry of a Micro Electro Mechanical System (MEMS)resonator that may include an oscillator circuit formed on a die 101(e.g., only a portion of the die 101 may be shown in FIG. 2) or off die.For example, the self-calibrating thermal sensor 200 may include a MEMSresonator that has an equivalent circuit (hereinafter “resonatorcircuitry 202”) coupled with feedback circuitry 204 and a thermalcalibration module 206 coupled with the feedback circuitry 204 and/orthe resonator circuitry 202, as can be seen.

The resonator circuitry 202 may include, for example, a resistor R_(x),inductor L_(x) and capacitor C_(x) coupled with each other in series, ascan be seen, or in parallel or combinations of series and parallelarrangements. In some embodiments, the MEMS resonator may be modeled asthe series connection of a resistor, inductor and capacitor, but theseelements may not be physically present. The resistor R_(x), inductorL_(x) and capacitor C_(x) may be coupled with parasitic capacitanceelements C_(o), which may resemble a capacitance between the resonatorcircuitry 202 and ground (e.g., a substrate of the die). The resonatorcircuitry 202 may provide an electrical model for any MEMS resonatorsuch as, for example, clamped beam or any other resonator transducer toconvert electrical energy into mechanical energy and/or vice versa. Forexample, electrical energy of the resonator circuitry 202 may cause aresonator plate or beam (hereinafter “resonator plate”) to oscillate ata natural or resonant frequency defined by physical dimensions of theresonator plate as well as the electrode configuration. Values of theseequivalent components (e.g., resistor Rx, inductor Lx and capacitor Cx)may be depend on mode of operation and temperature at the mode ofoperation.

The resonator circuitry 202 may be coupled with a transimpedanceamplifier 205 in a positive feedback configuration, as can be seen. Thepositive feedback may excite and sustain an oscillation in the MEMSresonator with a frequency equal to a resonance frequency of the MEMSresonator. The resonance frequency of the resonator plate may changewith temperature of the die 101, which may allow tracking of thetemperature of the die 101 by monitoring an output frequency (e.g.,Output of output module 207 in FIG. 2) of the oscillator set by the MEMSresonator.

In some embodiments, the self-calibrating thermal sensor 200 may includean output module 207 configured to output information about a frequencyof the oscillator, which is set by the resonance frequency of the MEMSresonator. For example, the oscillating MEMS resonator may generate anelectrical sinusoidal signal that corresponds with the resonantfrequency of the resonator circuitry 202. The electrical sinusoidalsignal may be output by the output module to the thermal calibrationmodule 206. In some embodiments, the thermal calibration module 206 oroutput module 207 may include a frequency counter circuit or logic tocount the frequency of the electrical sinusoidal signal.

The feedback circuitry 204 may further include a resistor Rf and buffer209 coupled with the transimpedance amplifier 205, as can be seen. Theresistor Rf may be configured to set a gain of the transimpedanceamplifier 205 and the buffer 209 may be configured to isolate componentsof the feedback circuitry 204 such as, for example, the transimpedanceamplifier 205. An automatic level control (ALC) module 208 may beconfigured to provide a stable level of gain for the oscillation of theMEMS resonator. For example, the ALC module 208 may include logicconfigured to control the resistor Rf to set the gain of thetransimpedance amplifier 205.

The thermal calibration module 206 may be operatively coupled with thefeedback circuitry 204. For example, the thermal calibration module 206may be coupled with the output module 207 to receive the frequency ofthe MEMS resonator that is output by the output module 207. In someembodiments, the thermal calibration module 206 may be coupled with theresonator circuitry 202. For example, the thermal calibration module 206may be configured to control oscillation of the resonator plate bybiasing the resonator plate to operate in multiple modes such as a firstmode and a second mode and/or to switch between the first mode and thesecond mode. Individual modes of the multiple modes may each exciteoscillation that results in different displacement geometry andamplitude of the MEMS resonator relative to each other.

The thermal calibration module 206 may be configured to performcalculations using thermal response curve equations (e.g., equations (1)or (3)) to perform soft trim or thermal calibration of theself-calibrating thermal sensor 200. The thermal calibration module 206may include a state machine configured to perform the method 600 of FIG.6. For example, the thermal calibration module 206 may include soft trimalgorithm logic that can be stored in firmware or other suitable storagemedium and may be executed by a processor such as, for example a centralprocessing unit (CPU) or microcontroller.

In some embodiments, the thermal calibration module 206 may be disposedon the die 101. For example, the thermal calibration module 206 mayinclude circuitry formed on the die 101 such as, for example, memoryconfigured to store instructions that, when executed by a processor,result in actions associated with thermal calibration as describedherein. In other embodiments, the thermal calibration module 206 may notbe disposed on the die 101, but may be part of another electrical device(e.g., another die or circuit board) that is operatively coupled withthe feedback circuitry 204 and/or the resonator circuitry 202.

In some embodiments, the thermal calibration module 206 may be part of apower control unit (PCU) 211 disposed on the die. The PCU 211 may becoupled with the output module 207 and/or the thermal calibration module206 and may be configured to manage power of the die 101 based on theinformation about frequency received from the output module 207 and/orthe thermal calibration module 206. In some embodiments, the thermalcalibration module 206 may provide oscillator frequency and/orcalibration coefficients associated with calculations of the thermalresponse curve for the first mode and the second mode to the PCU 211and/or a temperature calculation based the oscillator frequency and/orcalibration coefficients. The PCU 211 may, for example, be configured tocontrol operation of a thermal cooling system of the die 101 or mayincrease an operating frequency of transistors of the die 101 based onthe frequency and/or calculated corresponding temperature of theresonator plate. In some embodiments, the PCU 211 may include circuitryformed on the die 101. The thermal calibration module 206 and the PCU211 may be separate logic on the same die 101, but operatively coupledtogether in some embodiments. In other embodiments, the PCU 211 may bepart of another electrical device (e.g., a circuit board such asmotherboard 702 of FIG. 7) that is operatively coupled with the die 101and the self-calibrating thermal sensor 200 on the die 101.

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a cross-section side view of anintegrated circuit (IC) die (hereinafter “die 300”) including amulti-mode resonator, in accordance with some embodiments. Themulti-mode resonator may include a resonating element such as, forexample, a resonator plate 308 and associated circuitry (e.g., circuitry303) configured to thermally couple the resonator plate 308 withheat-generating circuitry (e.g., transistor 312). The multi-moderesonator may further include one or more actuation electrodes 320 andassociated circuitry (e.g., circuitry 303) configured to activateoscillation of the resonator plate 308 and/or bias the resonator plate308 to provide a first mode and second mode of oscillation.

The die 300 may include a substrate 310 composed of a semiconductormaterial (e.g., silicon). Circuitry 303 may be formed on the substrate310 and may include, for example, transistors (e.g., transistor 312)that may generate heat when in operation and interconnect structuressuch as, for example, one or more trenches (e.g., trench 314) and/or viastructures (e.g., via 316) that thermally couple the transistors with aresonator plate 308 to provide a thermal pathway between the transistorsand the resonator plate 308. The resonator plate 308 may be disposed onan active side of the die 300. The interconnect structures (e.g., trench314 or via 316) may be disposed in an electrically insulative material318 such as, for example, silicon oxide that is disposed on thesubstrate 310. In some embodiments, the interconnect structures and theelectrically insulative material 318 may be part of an interconnectlayer 315 configured to route electrical signals to or from thetransistors. The interconnect layer 315 may be disposed on thetransistors (e.g., transistor 312). The interconnect structures and theresonator plate 308 may be composed of a thermally conductive materialsuch as a metal (e.g., copper).

The die 300 may further include circuitry configured to activateoscillation of the resonator plate 308. For example, circuitry 303 a mayinclude an actuation electrode 320 disposed adjacent to the resonatorplate 308, as can be seen, and configured to active oscillation of theresonator. The actuation electrode 320 may be electrically coupled witha direct current (DC) voltage source (e.g., V_(Dc)) and the resonatorplate 308 may be electrically coupled (e.g., capacitively and/orinductively coupled) with an alternating current (AC) voltage source(e.g., V_(AC)). The AC voltage and/or the DC voltage may be used to biasthe resonator plate 308 to provide multiple modes of operation for theresonator plate 308.

In some embodiments, the resonator plate 308 may have a length, L, from10 to 60 microns, and a height, h, from 1 to 4 microns. In someembodiments, the resonator plate 308 and the actuation electrode 320 maybe separated by a gap, G, from 20 to 100 nm. Other suitable values forL, h and g may be used in other embodiments.

FIG. 4 schematically illustrates a multi-mode resonator (hereinafter“resonator”) configured in a first mode 400 a and a second mode 400 b,in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 4 may depict a same resonatorconfigured to operate in the first mode 400 a and the second mode 400 b.In some embodiments, the components of the resonator may be furtherconfigured to operate in a third or more modes (not shown). Theresonator may be part of a die (e.g., die 300 of FIG. 3) in someembodiments.

The resonator in the first mode 400 a may be associated with a differentand specific thermal sensitivity relative to the operation in the secondmode 400 b. In other words, a variation of oscillation frequency of theresonator due to temperature may be different for each mode. Thisproperty may be exploited to perform self-calibration of a thermalsensor (e.g., self-calibrating thermal sensor 200 of FIGS. 1-2).

According to various embodiments, the first mode 400 a may represent alame mode or square resonator lame mode (LA) and the second mode 400 bmay represent an extensional mode or square resonator extensional (SE)mode. The first mode 400 a and the second mode 400 b may be activated bybiasing electrodes to capacitively excite a resonator plate 420 of theresonator. For example, in the first mode 400 a, electrodes 422 and 424may represent axis symmetric electrodes or opposing electrodes that arebiased out-of-phase (e.g., opposite polarity) relative to one another.In the depicted first mode 400 a configuration, the electrodes 422 arecoupled with an AC input and the electrodes 424 are coupled with an ACoutput and the resonator plate 420 is coupled with DC ground (e.g.,V_(Dc)). The electrical connections may be switched to provide similarresults in some embodiments. The electrodes 422 are biased with a DCvoltage that is negative (e.g., DC −ve) in the first mode.

In the depicted second mode 400 b, the electrodes 422 and 424 may bebiased in-phase (e.g., same polarity) relative to one another. Theelectrodes 422 are biased with a DC voltage that is positive (e.g., DC+ve) in the first mode. Switching between the first mode 400 a and thesecond mode 400 b may be accomplished by changing a polarity of the DCbias (e.g., changing DC voltage from −ve to +ve).

The electrodes 422 in the depiction of the first mode 400 aconfiguration have different marking than the electrodes 422 in thedepiction of the second mode 400 b configuration to indicate theopposite polarity of the DC bias applied to the electrodes 422 in therespective configurations. In other embodiments, other suitableelectrode configurations may be used to bias the resonator plate toprovide multiple modes of oscillation. For example, in otherconfigurations, electrodes having opposite polarity may be staggered orinterleaved relative to one another and may be disposed around theresonator plate 420. Such interleaved electrodes may be biased in-phaseor out-of-phase to provide the respective first mode and the secondmode.

The resonator plate 420 may have a variety of shapes according tovarious embodiments. In some embodiments, the resonator plate 420 mayhave a polygon shape including, for example, a rectangular shape such asa square. In other embodiments, the resonator plate 308 may have anon-linear shape such as, for example, a circular shape or combinationsof polygon and curved shapes or may include an annular ring with a setof electrodes disposed on the inside of the ring. The resonator plate420 may comport with embodiments described in connection with resonatorplate 308 of FIG. 3 and vice versa.

FIG. 5 is a graph 500 depicting a correlation of measured frequency andtemperature for a first mode (e.g., first mode 400 a of FIG. 4) andsecond mode (e.g., second mode 400 b of FIG. 4) of resonance, inaccordance with some embodiments. A thermal response of the resonator inthe first mode and the second mode may be initially characterized in alaboratory setting to provide a characterized thermal curve for each ofthe first mode and the second mode (e.g., for a particular productembodied in a die). For example, a frequency of one or more resonatorsmay be measured in the first mode and the second mode for a range oftemperatures to provide a characterized thermal curve for each mode suchas, for example, first ideal curve 526 and second ideal curve 528respectively corresponding with the first mode (e.g., lame mode) and thesecond mode (extensional mode). Such curves (e.g., curves 526 and 528)may be used as a starting point to calibrate other thermal sensors inresonators manufactured according to a similar process (e.g., a sameproduct as the particular product embodied in the die).

The first ideal curve 526 may be defined by a first equation (e.g., lamemode equation) according to the following, where f_(Lame) represents theresonator frequency at temperature T, f_(oLame) represents resonatorfrequency at a reference temperature T_(o)(e.g., room temperature ˜25°C. for cold embodiment and ˜100° C. for hot embodiment), α_(Lame)represents a constant coefficient particular to a particular resonatordesign that is based on laboratory characterization of the resonator, Trepresents an unknown temperature to be calculated, T_(o) represents thereference temperature, L represents a dimension (e.g., length L of FIG.3) of a square resonator, E represents a Young's modulus of elasticityof material of the resonator (e.g., resonator plate 308 of FIG. 3), prepresents a density of the material of the resonator and v representsPoisson's ratio of the material of the resonator:

f _(Lame) =f _(oLame)(1+α_(Lame)(T−T _(o)))  (1)

and

$\begin{matrix}{f_{oLame} = {\frac{1}{L\sqrt{2}}\sqrt{\frac{E}{2\; {\rho \left( {1 + v} \right)}}}}} & (2)\end{matrix}$

Equation (1) may be a first resonance mode equation representing arelation between a first mode resonance frequency and temperature. Othersuitable equations may be used in other embodiments. Equation (2) may bemodified according to well-known principles to provide f_(oLame) forresonators having shapes other than a square.

The second ideal curve 528 may be defined by a second equation (e.g.,extensional mode equation) according to the following where f_(SE)represents the resonator frequency at temperature T, f_(oSE) representsresonator frequency at a reference temperature T_(o) (e.g., roomtemperature ˜25° C. for cold embodiment and ˜100° C. for hotembodiment), α_(Lame) represents a constant coefficient particular to aparticular resonator design that is based on laboratory characterizationof the resonator, T represents an unknown temperature to be calculated,T_(o) represents the reference temperature, L represents a dimension(e.g., length L of FIG. 3) of a square resonator, E represents a Young'smodulus of elasticity of material of the resonator (e.g., resonatorplate 308 of FIG. 3), ρ represents a density of the material of theresonator and v represents Poisson's ratio of the material of theresonator:

f _(SE) =f _(oSE)(1+α_(SE)(T−T _(o)))  (3)

and

$\begin{matrix}{f_{oSE} = {\frac{1}{L}\sqrt{\frac{E}{4\; \rho}}}} & (4)\end{matrix}$

Equation (3) may be a second resonance mode equation representing arelation between a second mode resonance frequency and temperature.Other suitable equations may be used in other embodiments. Equation (4)may be modified according to well-known principles to provide f_(oSE)for resonators having shapes other than a square.

The slopes and/or offsets of the first ideal curve 526 and the secondideal curve 528 may be different from one another in some embodiments.The terms α_(Lam), and α_(SE) may be independent from mode frequency andmay be determined by characterization in a laboratory setting. Forexample, correspondence of temperature to frequency may be characterizedfor a statistically significant sample size (e.g., greater than 32samples) of resonators having a same design (e.g., for a same product)to provide a thermal response curve for the first mode and second mode.The characterization process may be performed whenever there is anychange to the manufacturing process. A sample that is statisticallyrepresentative to the population may be measured in the lab where thetemperature of the resonator is accurately set and controlled togenerate the frequency-temperature curves (e.g., first ideal curve 526and second ideal curve 528) for both modes per resonator and then theaveraged coefficients for the frequency temperature curves may then beextracted.

In some embodiments, calibration may include bringing a temperaturesensor to a known temperature, and measuring a frequency output of thesensor. The temperature of the sensor may be changed to another knownvalue and another frequency measurement may be measured. The sensor maythen be calibrated by drawing a line or curve (such as those shown inFIG. 5) through the measured points. The derived calibration values(e.g., slopes of the curves) may correspond with the constantcoefficient (e.g., α_(Lame) or α_(SE) of equations (1) and (3)), whichmay be stored/fused/programmed where the PCU can use them to accuratelyconvert the sensor output to temperature. This calibration approachcould, in practice, be used for each die, however such calibration maybe limited by the accuracy of the forced temperature, and may beexpensive because of the need to force two different, precisiontemperatures for each die. The embodiments of the present disclosure mayavoid these challenges by activating one oscillator to oscillate in twodifferent modes that depend upon the same physical values in equations(1), (2), (3), and (4). Assuming that the temperature has not changedbetween the calibration measurements, one can determine the temperatureoffset that is needed to make all of the equations simultaneously valid.

First actual curve 530 represents an actual thermal response curve for aself-calibrating thermal sensor (e.g., a thermal sensor including aresonator that was not used to provide the characterized thermal curve)in the first mode and second actual curve 532 represents an actualthermal response curve for the self-calibrating thermal sensor in thesecond mode. In the absence of manufacturing process variations, ameasured frequency for the first mode (e.g., f_(LA)) and a measuredfrequency for the second mode (e.g., f_(SE)) ideally corresponds to asame temperature (e.g., T_(Actual)). However, practically, processvariations in fabricating the resonator may affect dimensions of theresonator (e.g., resonator plate 308 of FIG. 3), which in turn, mayaffect a resonance frequency of the resonator. As a result, the measuredfrequency for the first mode (e.g., f_(LA)) and the measured frequencyfor the second mode (e.g., f_(SE)) may correspond with differenttemperatures (e.g., T_(LA) and T_(SE)) of the respective first idealcurve 526 and second ideal curve 528, as can be seen. This discrepancybetween temperatures of the two modes is calibrated by theself-calibrating thermal sensor. The induced effects of processvariation can be softly calibrated out because the same resonator and,thus, same geometry is used to excite the first mode and the secondmode. For example, an iterative technique may be used minimize adifference between the calculated temperatures (e.g., T_(LA) and T_(SE))of the respective first ideal curve 526 and second ideal curve 528 usingequations (1) and (3) until the equations converge on a sametemperature.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of a method 600 of thermal calibration, inaccordance with some embodiments. The actions of method 600 may beperformed by a thermal calibration module (e.g., thermal calibrationmodule 206 of FIG. 2) that is coupled to control and/or monitoroscillation of a resonator of a thermal sensor in a first mode andsecond mode. For example, the thermal calibration module may beconfigured to switch between the first mode and the second mode. Thethermal calibration module may be further configured to performcalculations using thermal response curve equations (e.g., equations (1)or (3)) to perform soft trim or thermal calibration of the thermalsensor. The thermal calibration module may include a state machineconfigured to perform the method 600. For example, the actions of method600 may represent soft trim algorithm logic that can be stored infirmware or other suitable storage medium and may be executed by aprocessor such as, for example, a central processing unit (CPU) ormicrocontroller.

At 602, the method 600 includes activating oscillation of a resonator ina first mode. A thermal calibration module may place the resonator in afirst mode using out-of-phase biasing of electrodes disposed adjacent toa resonator plate (e.g., according to first mode 400 a configuration ofFIG. 4).

At 604, the method 600 includes receiving a first frequency of theresonator in the first mode. The first frequency corresponds with aresonant frequency of the resonator plate in the first mode. In thefirst mode, the resonator plate may oscillate at a resonant frequency(e.g., the first frequency) that is dependent on and, thus, tracks atemperature of the resonator plate. While in the first mode, theoscillating resonator plate may generate an electrical sinusoidal signalthat corresponds with the first frequency and is output to the thermalcalibration module.

At 606, the method 600 includes calculating a first temperature T1corresponding with the first frequency using a first equation (e.g.,equation (1)). The first temperature may be calculated, for example,using equation (1) where the frequency of the lame mode is the firstfrequency received at 604. The first temperature T1 may be calculated,for example, by rearranging equation (1) as shown in equation (5):

$\begin{matrix}{{T\; 1} = {T = {T_{Lame} = {\left( {T_{o} - \frac{1}{\alpha_{Lame}}} \right) + {\frac{1}{f_{oLame}\alpha_{Lame}}f_{Lame}}}}}} & (5)\end{matrix}$

At 608, the method 600 includes activating oscillation of the resonatorin a second mode. A thermal calibration module may place the resonatorin a second mode using in-phase biasing of electrodes disposed adjacentto a resonator plate (e.g., according to second mode 400 b configurationof FIG. 4).

At 610, the method 600 includes receiving a second frequency of theresonator in the second mode. The second frequency corresponds with aresonant frequency of the resonator plate in the second mode. In thesecond mode, the resonator plate may oscillate at a resonant frequency(e.g., the second frequency) that is dependent on and, thus, tracks atemperature of the resonator plate. While in the second mode, theoscillating resonator plate may generate an electrical sinusoidal signalthat corresponds with the second frequency and is output to the thermalcalibration module. In some embodiments, the thermal calibration modulemay include a frequency counter circuit or logic to count the frequencyof the electrical sinusoidal signal.

At 612, the method 600 includes calculating a second temperature T2corresponding with the second frequency using a second equation (e.g.,equation (3)). The second temperature may be calculated, for example,using equation (1) where the frequency of the extensional mode is thesecond frequency received at 610. The second temperature T2 may becalculated, for example, by rearranging equation (3) as shown inequation (6):

$\begin{matrix}{{T\; 2} = {T = {T_{SE} = {\left( {T_{o} - \frac{1}{\alpha_{SE}}} \right) + {\frac{1}{f_{oSE}\alpha_{SE}}f_{SE}}}}}} & (6)\end{matrix}$

At 614, the method 600 includes comparing the first temperature T1 andT2 to provide a result of the comparison for determining whether theyare equal, or minimized, or less than a pre-determined thresholddifference. If T1 and T2 are equal or minimized or less than thepre-determined threshold difference, then the method 600 may end. Theoffsets of the first equation and/or the second equation may be storedfor future use by the thermal sensor in reading the temperature ofheat-generating circuitry based on a frequency of the resonator in thefirst mode and/or second mode.

If T1 and T2 are not equal or not minimized or not less than thepre-determined threshold difference, then the method 600 may proceed to616 where it is determined whether T1 is greater than T2. If T1 isgreater than T2, then at 618, an offset is added to the first equationand/or the second equation. If T2 is greater than T1, then at 620, anoffset is added to the first equation and/or the second equation. Insome embodiments, an offset is added to both the first equation and thesecond equation at 618 or 620. The offset added at 618 may have anopposite sign relative to the offset added at 620. For example, in someembodiments, a positive offset may be added at 618 and a negative offsetmay be added at 620. The offset added at 618 and 620 may have a samemagnitude, but opposite sign in some embodiments. After adding theoffset to the first and second equations at 618 or 620, the method 600may repeat again (e.g., actions at 602-614 are performed again). In someembodiments, the thermal calibration module may be configured toiteratively perform one or more actions of method 600 (e.g., actions602-620) until the comparison of T1 and T2 at 614 is satisfied.

Actions of method 600 may be performed during various times. Forexample, the thermal calibration module (e.g., logic) may be configuredto perform actions of method 600 during class or assembly test of an ICdie to provide an initial thermal calibration. The thermal calibrationmodule may perform actions of method 600 subsequent to shipping of theIC die to a customer. For example, the thermal calibration module mayperform the actions of method 600 during boot time or real-timeoperation of the IC die or on a periodic basis while the IC die isembodied in a computing device in possession by an end user of the ICdie. An ability to perform thermal calibration in the field may mitigateage-induced effects and maintain accuracy of a thermal sensor over alifetime of a system (e.g., computing device) that includes the thermalsensor and thermal calibration module. In some embodiments, accuracywithin +/−1° C. may be achieved using thermal calibration techniquesdescribed herein.

Various operations are described as multiple discrete operations inturn, in a manner that is most helpful in understanding the claimedsubject matter. However, the order of description should not beconstrued as to imply that these operations are necessarily orderdependent. For example, actions of the method 600 may be performed inanother suitable order than depicted. In some embodiments, activation ofoscillation in the second mode at 608 may be performed prior toactivation of oscillation in the first mode at 602 and/or calculationsperformed at 606 and 612 may be performed subsequent to receiving thefirst frequency and the second frequency at 604 and 610. Other suitablemodes other than the modes described in connection with lame mode andextensional mode may be used in other embodiments.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented into a systemusing any suitable hardware and/or software to configure as desired.FIG. 7 schematically illustrates a computing device 700 that includes anIC die (e.g., die 101 of FIG. 1-2 or 300 of FIG. 3) having aself-calibrating thermal sensor (e.g., self-calibrating thermal sensor200) and/or resonator (e.g., resonator described in connection withFIGS. 3 and 4) as described herein, in accordance with some embodiments.The computing device 700 may house a board such as motherboard 702. Themotherboard 702 may include a number of components, including but notlimited to a processor 704 and at least one communication chip 706. Theprocessor 704 may be physically and electrically coupled to themotherboard 702. In some implementations, the at least one communicationchip 706 may also be physically and electrically coupled to themotherboard 702. In further implementations, the communication chip 706may be part of the processor 704.

Depending on its applications, computing device 700 may include othercomponents that may or may not be physically and electrically coupled tothe motherboard 702. These other components may include, but are notlimited to, volatile memory (e.g., DRAM), non-volatile memory (e.g.,ROM), flash memory, a graphics processor, a digital signal processor, acrypto processor, a chipset, an antenna, a display, a touchscreendisplay, a touchscreen controller, a battery, an audio codec, a videocodec, a power amplifier, a global positioning system (GPS) device, acompass, a Geiger counter, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a speaker, acamera, and a mass storage device (such as hard disk drive, compact disk(CD), digital versatile disk (DVD), and so forth). Housing 708 mayprotect internal components from environmental hazards and/or handling.

The communication chip 706 may enable wireless communications for thetransfer of data to and from the computing device 700. The term“wireless” and its derivatives may be used to describe circuits,devices, systems, methods, techniques, communications channels, etc.,that may communicate data through the use of modulated electromagneticradiation through a non-solid medium. The term does not imply that theassociated devices do not contain any wires, although in someembodiments they might not. The communication chip 706 may implement anyof a number of wireless standards or protocols, including but notlimited to Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE)standards including Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11 family), IEEE 802.16 standards(e.g., IEEE 802.16-2005 Amendment), Long-Term Evolution (LTE) projectalong with any amendments, updates, and/or revisions (e.g., advanced LTEproject, ultra mobile broadband (UMB) project (also referred to as“3GPP2”), etc.). IEEE 802.16 compatible BWA networks are generallyreferred to as WiMAX networks, an acronym that stands for WorldwideInteroperability for Microwave Access, which is a certification mark forproducts that pass conformity and interoperability tests for the IEEE802.16 standards. The communication chip 706 may operate in accordancewith a Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM), General PacketRadio Service (GPRS), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS),High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), Evolved HSPA (E-HSPA), or LTE network.The communication chip 706 may operate in accordance with Enhanced Datafor GSM Evolution (EDGE), GSM EDGE Radio Access Network (GERAN),Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), or Evolved UTRAN(E-UTRAN). The communication chip 706 may operate in accordance withCode Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access(TDMA), Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT),Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO), derivatives thereof, as well as anyother wireless protocols that are designated as 3G, 4G, 5G, and beyond.The communication chip 706 may operate in accordance with other wirelessprotocols in other embodiments.

The computing device 700 may include a plurality of communication chips706. For instance, a first communication chip 706 may be dedicated toshorter range wireless communications such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and asecond communication chip 706 may be dedicated to longer range wirelesscommunications such as GPS, EDGE, GPRS, CDMA, WiMAX, LTE, Ev-DO, andothers.

The processor 704 of the computing device 700 may include an IC die(e.g., die 101 of FIG. 1-2 or 300 of FIG. 3) having a self-calibratingthermal sensor (e.g., self-calibrating thermal sensor 200) as describedherein. For example, the processor 704 may include an IC die mounted onthe motherboard 702. The term “processor” may refer to any device orportion of a device that processes electronic data from registers and/ormemory to transform that electronic data into other electronic data thatmay be stored in registers and/or memory.

The communication chip 706 may also include an IC die (e.g., die 101 ofFIG. 1-2 or 300 of FIG. 3) having a self-calibrating thermal sensor(e.g., self-calibrating thermal sensor 200) as described herein. Infurther implementations, another component (e.g., memory device or otherintegrated circuit device) housed within the computing device 700 mayinclude an IC die (e.g., die 101 of FIG. 1-2 or 300 of FIG. 3) having aself-calibrating thermal sensor (e.g., self-calibrating thermal sensor200) as described herein. In one embodiment, the processor 704 mayinclude the IC die having the thermal sensor (e.g., resonating plate)and the thermal calibration module may include instructions stored inmemory that is coupled with the thermal sensor of the processor.

In some embodiments, the thermal calibration module (e.g., thermalcalibration module 206) and the thermal sensor (e.g., self-calibratingthermal sensor 200) are components of a same computing device. Forexample, the thermal calibration module and the thermal sensor may bedisposed on a same IC die, within a same package substrate including theIC die, or coupled with a same circuit board (e.g., motherboard 702) ordisposed within a same housing 708. In various implementations, thecomputing device 700 may be a laptop, a netbook, a notebook, anultrabook, a smartphone, a tablet, a personal digital assistant (PDA),an ultra mobile PC, a mobile phone, a desktop computer, a server, aprinter, a scanner, a monitor, a set-top box, an entertainment controlunit, a digital camera, a portable music player, or a digital videorecorder. In further implementations, the computing device 700 may beany other electronic device that processes data.

Examples

The following paragraphs provide a number of examples of embodiments ofthe present disclosure.

Example 1A is a self-calibrating thermal sensing device including aresonator configured to oscillate at a frequency corresponding with atemperature of circuitry of an integrated circuit (IC) die, wherein theresonator is thermally coupled with the circuitry and configured tooperate in a first mode and a second mode and logic operatively coupledwith the resonator, and configured to calculate a first temperaturecorresponding with a first frequency of the resonator in the first modeusing a first equation, calculate a second temperature correspondingwith a second frequency of the resonator in the second mode using asecond equation, and add an offset to the first equation and the secondequation based on a result of a comparison of the first temperature andthe second temperature.

Example 1B is the device of Example 1A, wherein the logic is furtherconfigured to iteratively calculate the first temperature and the secondtemperature and add the offset to the first temperature and the secondtemperature until the first temperature and the second temperature areequal or until a difference between the first temperature and the secondtemperature is minimized or smaller than a pre-determined threshold.

Example 1C is the device of Example 1A, wherein the logic is furtherconfigured to activate oscillation of the resonator in the first mode,receive the first frequency of the resonator in the first mode, activateoscillation of the resonator in the second mode, receive the secondfrequency of the resonator in the second mode, and compare the firsttemperature and the second temperature to provide the result of thecomparison of the first temperature and the second temperature.

Example 1D is the device of any of Examples 1A-1C, wherein the resonatorincludes an equivalent circuit that includes a resistor, inductor andcapacitor coupled with each other in series or parallel, or combinationsthereof.

Example 1E is the device of any of Examples 1A-1C, further including anamplifier coupled with the resonator in a positive feedbackconfiguration, wherein the amplifier is configured to excite oscillationof the resonator at a frequency corresponding with a resonant frequencyof the resonator to provide the first frequency of the resonator in thefirst mode and the second frequency of the resonator in the second modeand an output module coupled with the resonator and configured to outputinformation about the first frequency of the resonator in the first modeand the second frequency of the second mode.

Example 1F is the device of Example 1E, further including a powercontrol unit (PCU) coupled with the output module, the PCU beingconfigured to manage power of the IC die based on the information fromthe output module.

Example 1G is the device of any of Examples 1A-1C, wherein the firstequation includes a lame mode equation and the second equation includesan extensional mode equation.

Example 2A is an integrated circuit (IC) die including circuitryconfigured to generate heat when in operation, a resonator thermallycoupled with the circuitry and configured to oscillate at a frequencycorresponding with a temperature of the circuitry, wherein the resonatoris configured to operate in a first mode and a second mode and a thermalcalibration module operatively coupled with the resonator, andconfigured to calculate a first temperature corresponding with a firstfrequency of the resonator in the first mode using a first equation,calculate a second temperature corresponding with a second frequency ofthe resonator in the second mode using a second equation, and add anoffset to the first equation and the second equation based on a resultof a comparison of the first temperature and the second temperature.

Example 2B is the IC die of Example 2A, further including aninterconnect layer disposed on the circuitry and configured to routeelectrical signals to or from the circuitry, wherein the resonator isthermally coupled with the circuitry through the interconnect layer, thecircuitry includes a transistor device disposed on an active side of theIC die and the resonator is disposed on the active side of the IC die.

Example 2C is the IC die of any of Examples 2A-2B, wherein the resonatorcomprises a copper plate coupled with electrodes, the first mode isactivated by out-of-phase biasing of the electrodes and the second modeis activated by in-phase biasing of the electrodes.

Example 2D is the IC die of any of Examples 2A-2B, wherein the IC dieincludes a processor and the logic includes instructions stored in astorage medium of the processor.

Example 2E is the IC die of Example 2D, wherein the logic is configuredto calculate the first temperature, calculate the second temperature andadd the offset during boot time of the processor, real-time operation ofthe processor or on a periodic basis.

Example 2F is the IC die of Example 2E, wherein the logic is furtherconfigured to calculate the first temperature, calculate the secondtemperature and add the offset during class or assembly thermalcalibration of the IC die.

Example 3A is a method for calibrating a thermal sensor, the methodincluding receiving, by a thermal calibration module coupled with thethermal sensor, a first frequency of a resonator in a first mode,calculating, by the thermal calibration module, a first temperaturecorresponding with the first frequency of the resonator in the firstmode using a first equation, receiving, by the thermal calibrationmodule, a second frequency of the resonator in a second mode,calculating, by the thermal calibration module, a second temperaturecorresponding with the second frequency of the resonator in the secondmode using a second equation and adding, by the thermal calibrationmodule, an offset to the first equation and the second equation based ona result of a comparison of the first temperature and the secondtemperature.

Example 3B is the method of Example 3A, further including iterativelyperforming the receiving the first frequency of the resonator in thefirst mode, calculating the first temperature, receiving the secondfrequency of the resonator in the second mode, calculating the secondtemperature and adding the offset until the first temperature and thesecond temperature are equal or until a difference between the firsttemperature and the second temperature is minimized or smaller than apre-determined threshold.

Example 3C is the method of Example 3A further including comparing, bythe thermal calibration module, the first temperature and the secondtemperature to provide the result of the comparison of the firsttemperature and the second temperature.

Example 3D is the method of any of Examples 3A-3C, further includingactivating, by the thermal calibration module, oscillation of theresonator in the first mode and activating, by the thermal calibrationmodule, oscillation of the resonator in the second mode.

Example 3E is the method of any of Examples 3A-3C, wherein the thermalcalibration module and the thermal sensor are components of a samecomputing device.

Example 4A is a computing device including a circuit board, anintegrated circuit (IC) die coupled with the circuit board, the IC dieincluding circuitry configured to generate heat when in operation, athermal sensor thermally coupled with the circuitry, the thermal sensorincluding a resonator that is configured to oscillate at a frequencycorresponding with a temperature of the circuitry, wherein the resonatoris configured to operate in a first mode and a second mode and a thermalcalibration module operatively coupled with the thermal sensor, andconfigured to calculate a first temperature corresponding with a firstfrequency of the resonator in the first mode using a first equation,calculate a second temperature corresponding with a second frequency ofthe resonator in the second mode using a second equation, and add anoffset to the first equation and the second equation based on a resultof a comparison of the first temperature and the second temperature.

Example 4B is the computing device of Example 4A, wherein the IC die isa processor, the computing device further including memory coupled withthe processor, wherein the thermal calibration module includesinstructions stored in the memory.

Example 4C is the computing device of any of Examples 4A-4B, furtherincluding one or more of an antenna, a display, a touchscreen display, atouchscreen controller, a battery, an audio codec, a video codec, apower amplifier, a global positioning system (GPS) device, a compass, aGeiger counter, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a speaker, or a cameracoupled with the circuit board, wherein the computing device is one of alaptop, a netbook, a notebook, an ultrabook, a smartphone, a tablet, apersonal digital assistant (PDA), an ultra mobile PC, a mobile phone, adesktop computer, a server, a printer, a scanner, a monitor, a set-topbox, an entertainment control unit, a digital camera, a portable musicplayer, or a digital video recorder.

Example 5A is an apparatus including means for oscillating at afrequency corresponding with a temperature of an integrated circuit (IC)device, wherein the means is configured to operate in a first mode and asecond mode and means for calculating a first temperature correspondingwith a first frequency of the resonator in the first mode using a firstequation, calculating a second temperature corresponding with a secondfrequency of the resonator in the second mode using a second equation,and adding an offset to the first equation and the second equation basedon a result of a comparison of the first temperature and the secondtemperature.

Example 5B is the apparatus of Example 5A, further including means foriteratively calculating the first temperature and the second temperatureand adding the offset to the first temperature and the secondtemperature until the first temperature and the second temperature areequal or until a difference between the first temperature and the secondtemperature is minimized or smaller than a pre-determined threshold.

Example 6A is a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium havinginstructions stored thereon that are configured to cause calibration ofa thermal sensor, in response to execution by a processor, to receive afirst frequency of a resonator in a first mode, calculate a firsttemperature corresponding with the first frequency of the resonator inthe first mode using a first equation, receive a second frequency of theresonator in a second mode, calculate a second temperature correspondingwith the second frequency of the resonator in the second mode using asecond equation, and add an offset to the first equation and the secondequation based on a result of a comparison of the first temperature andthe second temperature.

Example 6B is the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium ofExample 6A, wherein the instructions are further configured, in responseto execution by the processor, to activate oscillation of the resonatorin the first mode and activate oscillation of the resonator in thesecond mode.

Example 7A is a method of fabricating a self-calibrating thermal sensingdevice, the method comprising forming circuitry on a semiconductorsubstrate, the circuitry being configured to generate heat when inoperation, forming an interconnect layer including electricalinterconnect structures configured to route electrical signals to orfrom the circuitry, forming, simultaneously with forming theinterconnect layer, thermal interconnect structures configured to routethe heat generated by the circuitry, when in operation, through theinterconnect layer, forming a resonator on the interconnect layer, theresonator being configured to oscillate at a frequency correspondingwith a temperature of the circuitry, wherein the resonator is configuredto operate in a first mode and a second mode and coupling a thermalcalibration module with the resonator, the thermal calibration modulebeing configured to calculate a first temperature corresponding with afirst frequency of the resonator in the first mode using a firstequation, calculate a second temperature corresponding with a secondfrequency of the resonator in the second mode using a second equation,and add an offset to the first equation and the second equation based ona result of a comparison of the first temperature and the secondtemperature.

Example 7B is the method of Example 7A, wherein forming the resonatorcomprises forming a copper plate coupled with electrodes, wherein thefirst mode is activated by the thermal calibration module byout-of-phase biasing of the electrodes and the second mode is activatedby the thermal calibration module by in-phase biasing of the electrodes.

Various embodiments may include any suitable combination of theabove-described embodiments including alternative (or) embodiments ofembodiments that are described in conjunctive form (and) above (e.g.,the “and” may be “and/or”). Furthermore, some embodiments may includeone or more articles of manufacture (e.g., non-transitorycomputer-readable media) having instructions, stored thereon, that whenexecuted result in actions of any of the above-described embodiments.Moreover, some embodiments may include apparatuses or systems having anysuitable means for carrying out the various operations of theabove-described embodiments.

The above description of illustrated implementations, including what isdescribed in the Abstract, is not intended to be exhaustive or to limitthe embodiments of the present disclosure to the precise formsdisclosed. While specific implementations and examples are describedherein for illustrative purposes, various equivalent modifications arepossible within the scope of the present disclosure, as those skilled inthe relevant art will recognize.

These modifications may be made to embodiments of the present disclosurein light of the above detailed description. The terms used in thefollowing claims should not be construed to limit various embodiments ofthe present disclosure to the specific implementations disclosed in thespecification and the claims. Rather, the scope is to be determinedentirely by the following claims, which are to be construed inaccordance with established doctrines of claim interpretation.

1. (canceled)
 2. A thermal sensing device, the device comprising: aresonator to oscillate at a frequency corresponding with a temperatureof circuitry of an integrated circuit (IC) die, wherein the resonator isdisposed on an active side of the IC die, and thermally coupled with thecircuitry to operate in a first mode or a second mode; an actuationelectrode disposed on the IC die to activate oscillation of theresonator to provide a first mode oscillation or a second modeoscillation; and an automatic level control (ALC) module, wherein theALC module is to provide a level of gain for the first mode oscillationor the second mode oscillation.
 3. The thermal sensing device of claim2, wherein the resonator includes an equivalent circuit that includes aresistor, an inductor, or a capacitor coupled in series or in parallel,or a combination thereof.
 4. The thermal sensing device of claim 2,wherein the resonator includes a copper plate, and wherein the copperplate includes one of a rectangle, a square, a polygon, a circularshape, an annular ring, or a combination of a polygon and a curvedshape.
 5. The thermal sensing device of claim 2, further comprising: anamplifier coupled with the resonator in a positive feedbackconfiguration, wherein the amplifier is to excite the first modeoscillation or the second mode oscillation at a frequency correspondingwith a resonant frequency of the resonator to provide a first frequencyof the resonator in the first mode or a second frequency of theresonator in the second mode.
 6. The thermal sensing device of claim 5,wherein the ALC module is coupled with the amplifier to set a gain ofthe amplifier.
 7. The thermal sensing device of claim 5, furthercomprising: an output module coupled with the resonator to outputinformation about the first frequency of the resonator in the first modeor the second frequency of the resonator in the second mode.
 8. Thethermal sensing device of claim 7, further comprising: a power controlunit (PCU) coupled with the output module, the PCU to manage power ofthe IC die based on the information from the output module.
 9. Thethermal sensing device of claim 2, further comprising: a logic disposedon the IC die and operatively coupled with the resonator, to calculate afirst temperature of the IC die corresponding with a first frequency ofthe resonator in the first mode using a first equation, calculate asecond temperature of the IC die corresponding with a second frequencyof the resonator in the second mode using a second equation, and add anoffset to the first equation and the second equation based on a resultof a comparison of the first temperature and the second temperature. 10.The thermal sensing device of claim 9, wherein: the first equationincludes a thermal response curve equation to perform a soft trimalgorithm.
 11. The thermal sensing device of claim 9, wherein the logicis to further iteratively calculate the first temperature or the secondtemperature and add the offset to the first temperature or the secondtemperature until the first temperature or the second temperature areequal or until a difference between the first temperature or the secondtemperature is minimized or smaller than a pre-determined threshold. 12.The thermal sensing device of claim 9, wherein the logic is to further:activate the first mode oscillation of the resonator; receive the firstfrequency of the resonator in the first mode; activate the second modeoscillation of the resonator; receive the second frequency of theresonator in the second mode; and compare the first temperature and thesecond temperature to provide the result of the comparison of the firsttemperature and the second temperature.
 13. An integrated circuit (IC)die comprising: circuitry, wherein the circuitry generates heat when inoperation; a resonator thermally coupled with the circuitry to oscillateat a frequency corresponding with a temperature of the circuitry,wherein the resonator is to operate in a first mode or a second mode; anactuation electrode disposed on the IC die to activate oscillation ofthe resonator to provide a first mode oscillation or a second modeoscillation; and an automatic level control (ALC) module, wherein theALC module is to provide a level of gain for the first mode oscillationor the second mode oscillation.
 14. The IC die of claim 13, furthercomprising: an interconnect layer disposed on the circuitry to routeelectrical signals to or from the circuitry, wherein the resonator isthermally coupled with the circuitry through the interconnect layer, thecircuitry includes a transistor device disposed on an active side of theIC die and the resonator is disposed on the active side of the IC die.15. The IC die of claim 13, wherein: the resonator comprises a copperplate coupled with electrodes, wherein the copper plate includes one ofa rectangle, a square, a polygon, a circular shape, an annular ring, ora combination of a polygon and a curved shape; the first mode isactivated by out-of-phase biasing of the electrodes; and the second modeis activated by in-phase biasing of the electrodes.
 16. The IC die ofclaim 13, further comprising: a logic disposed on the IC die andoperatively coupled with the resonator, to calculate a first temperatureof the IC die corresponding with a first frequency of the resonator inthe first mode using a first equation, calculate a second temperature ofthe IC die corresponding with a second frequency of the resonator in thesecond mode using a second equation, and add an offset to the firstequation or the second equation based on a result of a comparison of thefirst temperature and the second temperature.
 17. The IC die of claim16, wherein the first equation includes a thermal response curveequation to perform a soft trim algorithm.
 18. The IC die of claim 16,wherein: the IC die includes a processor; and the logic includesinstructions stored in a storage medium of the processor.
 19. Acomputing device comprising: a circuit board; an integrated circuit (IC)die coupled with the circuit board, the IC die including: circuitry togenerate heat when in operation; a thermal sensor thermally coupled withthe circuitry, the thermal sensor including a resonator to oscillate ata frequency corresponding with a temperature of the circuitry, whereinthe resonator is disposed on an active side of the IC die, to operate ina first mode or a second mode, the resonator includes a copper plate,and wherein the copper plate includes one of a rectangle, a square, apolygon, a circular shape, an annular ring, or a combination of apolygon and a curved shape; an actuation electrode disposed on the ICdie to activate oscillation of the resonator to provide a first modeoscillation and a second mode oscillation; an automatic level control(ALC) module, wherein the ALC module is to provide a level of gain forthe first mode oscillation or the second mode oscillation; and a thermalcalibration module operatively coupled with the thermal sensor, tocalculate a first temperature of the IC die corresponding with a firstfrequency of the resonator in the first mode using a first equation,calculate a second temperature of the IC die corresponding with a secondfrequency of the resonator in the second mode using a second equation,and add an offset to the first equation or the second equation based ona result of a comparison of the first temperature and the secondtemperature.
 20. The computing device of claim 19 wherein the IC dieincludes a processor, the computing device further comprising: memorycoupled with the processor, wherein the thermal calibration moduleincludes instructions stored in the memory.
 21. The computing device ofclaim 20, further comprising: one or more of an antenna, a display, atouchscreen display, a touchscreen controller, a battery, an audiocodec, a video codec, a power amplifier, a global positioning system(GPS) device, a compass, a Geiger counter, an accelerometer, agyroscope, a speaker, or a camera coupled with the circuit board,wherein the computing device is one of a laptop, a netbook, a notebook,an ultrabook, a smartphone, a tablet, a personal digital assistant(PDA), an ultra mobile PC, a mobile phone, a desktop computer, a server,a printer, a scanner, a monitor, a set-top box, an entertainment controlunit, a digital camera, a portable music player, or a digital videorecorder.